The same Abba Anthony, once reflecting on the depth of God's judgments, asked: "Lord, why is it that some die in early youth and others live to a ripe old age? Why is it that some live in poverty and others become rich? Why do the wicked get rich and the good get poor?" And he heard a voice saying: "Anthony, be careful: for all these things are the judgments of God, and it would not do you any good to understand them".
If you were looking for a summary of this apophthegm, you could use the sentence: Mind your own business, Anthony. Concentrate on yourself and trust that God knows what He is doing.
Of course we understand Abba Anthony and his thoughts very well. We may have done it ourselves more than once or twice, wondering why the world is the way it is.
The question of why is quite ingrained in human nature. My metaphysics lecturer used to say that it is the origin of all philosophy, of all the quest for knowledge.
As human beings we want to know. We want to overcome our ignorance. We want to know.
To say that something cannot be explained, that there is some knowledge that we do not deserve, that there is some knowledge that may not even work for us.... That doesn't convince us. It goes against the part of our nature that is driven by that inner why of ours?
And yet that is the message this apophthegm gives us. There are things - the "judgments of God" - that are beyond our capacity to understand. Which we do not need to know and understand. Which we should accept in order to express our trust in God.
Someone will say - a convenient explanation by which to spread ignorance.
Is this really so?
The real meaning of this apoftegma lies in understanding two things.
The first is that if we constantly focus on 'important things', such as the great questions posed by Antony, we will in time lose the ability to work on ourselves. What is always important is 'something else'. And that other, in time, robs us of the ability to open ourselves to God, with the result that we neglect the pursuit of holiness.
The second is very natural. When we are constantly focused on others, we quickly begin to see things that are not the case. The state of preoccupation with others can also be a source of sins: slander, gossip, jealousy.... All these sins have their origin in an excessive focus on others. Therefore, not caring about what does not belong to us is to our own detriment. So it is worth guarding against them.
But what seems to me most important in all this is the implicit reminder: Trust in God; His judgments cannot be measured by human standards, and His justice is greater than any human concept of justice.
Trust!
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